Manchester by the Sea poster
Manchester by the Sea

Picking Nits

Package-store hours; missing hockey; guardianship notice; frozen burial plot; town economics; omitted family history; Patrick’s empathy and secret girlfriends.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:13Read transcript
  • A Massachusetts package store being open around three in the morning is rejected; small stores and gas stations would close by eleven.
  • More hockey and a Bruins game are desired, partly to show Joe and Lee connecting beyond the boat.
  • Not telling Lee ahead of time that he would be the guardian is questioned, then defended because he would have said no.
  • Choosing a burial plot frozen for months is questioned, then treated as a writerly thaw metaphor.
  • The town is considered more upscale than depicted, and an additional flashback showing the mother drunk is desired.
  • Patrick’s failure to give Lee a break remains an objection even after the teenage-self-absorption defense.
  • The two girlfriends would probably discover each other quickly through school and early Instagram; one may tolerate it more than the other.